Raising Teens, Tweens & Killer Dust Bunnies

I have straight fine hair (and by fine I mean not like...duuuuude, you got some fine-looking hair... but more like...duuuuude, your hair is soooooo fine, can't do nothing wit-it!), so I keep it short and make sure to take many selfies on good hair days...you know...to document...on the Internet...forever and ever, amen. "What color are we doing, today?!?" Fortunately, my hairdresser has known me for a very long time and happens to be a good friend of mine. "Oh, I don't know, surprise me!" She is also a master colorist and a Ninja with a pair of razor shears. We have pretty much lived through every color on the Redkin spectrum, together. "I have decided to dye my hair pink!" Okay, I lied, except pink. Which is probably why our youngest daughter...who has dark hair and looks a lot more like me than any of my other kids...poor kid...decided it...
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It's been a week since I've been home from the hospital and, well, did you know that laughter lowers blood pressure? Good thing, too -- now that high blood pressure and I have a history, dammit. She fainted while visiting her grandfather in the hospital a few years ago, so we've never been allowed to even mention the word and refer to it as "The place where really sick people go". Long story short (you're welcome!): I haven't been feeling very well for quite a while and waited until "Holy crap!" and "MY CHEST HURTS!" oh, and by the way "I CAN'T BREATH!" before getting myself some serious medical attention. "Your blood pressure is 193 over 112!" Because of my family history, I am very vigilant about getting a yearly physical and I've never had a history with high blood pressure, until now. "And it's not going down, so we're...
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One of the many things I miss (sort of) from when our kids were littler (i.e. being able to shop for 3 girls and 1 boy, at the same time AND at the same store) is bath time and the kids loved bath time, too! Except for our youngest, Hope -- she hated taking showers, even more! The girl hated, Hated, HAted, HATed, HATEd, I mean absolutely HATED taking showers! She even faked taking a shower with a container of baby powder (aftermath pictured above), because her middle sister insisted that their father and I would NEVER...EVER...know the difference and, well, Hope has since learned to NOT listen to her sisters! Except for yesterday, she was feeling...ummmm, you know...thirteen. "You should take a nice soak in the bath tub, Hope!" Long story short (you're welcome!): Things have been a bit stressful around here...okay, a lot...fiiiiiiiiiiine...try living with 5 other people...
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One of the BIGGEST fallacies you'll ever hear about parenting teenagers...IMHO, as a parent of teens, four times over, maneuvering through waves of hormonal and emotional angst for the last 9 years...both theirs AND mine...is the popular belief that parents of teens are entirely responsible for their children’s behavior. That is SO not true! I am mostly responsible for my teens behavior, but not entirely. Like adults, teenagers have their own agenda and many times (okay, mostly) it involves doing exactly the OPPOSITE of what their parents would do in almost any given situation and, well, it's a part of growing up. Hope: I'm going to go with Holly and pick Heather up from work! Unless you happen to be 13 years-old AND your 3 siblings happen to be older than you...well then...I am most assuredly responsible for her behavior...entirely. Me: Hang on, let me see your face! Something you...
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I started blogging in 2003 (with 4 kids home all under the age of 10) and I remember how most of my mom and dad friends (at the time) thought I was soooooooo crazy, because who has the time...really?!? Photo of my Mom with her grandrugrats, taken circa 2003 B.P. (before picmonkey) They were right, of course! Those were some crazy-busy daze, my friends! On the other hand, blogging was (and still is) cheaper than therapy. And then Facebook happened (i.e. one of the top ten BIGGEST time sucks in internet history) and now we can ALL meet up for some coffee (or cawfee, if you're from Jersey), rather than wave at each other as we attempt to maneuver our way OUT of a school parking lot (I don't miss having to do school drop-offs and pick-ups anymore, NOT ONE BIT) and now we can discuss parent-type things...on the internet...in...
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My son is turning 16, next Friday. SIXTEEN!!! The difference between his turning 16, as opposed to my two oldest daughters having crossed that bridge...with very little pomp and circumstance, other than a group sleepover...YAY!!!...while my 13 year-old daughter is already clipping through fashion magazines for prom dress ideas...WOW!!!...is that the boy insists his turning 16 is really not ALL that big of a deal. Guess what he wants for his birthday?!? G'head, I'll wait!!! Glen: I have to tell you about something my friends and I did in school. Aaaaaaaand, here's where being a mom of a teenager (for the last 9 years) comes in REAL handy. Me: [blank stare] Rather than jumping to conclusions (which is the only form of exercise I seem to be getting, these days) and imagining the worst possible things my son and his friends could have done, to want me to hear it...
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I was pregnant with our oldest daughter when Garth (not his real name) and I bought our house, which makes for an awesome timeline...because our oldest daughter turned 21 in November...and now I don't have to worry about doing too much math, to figure out that we bought this house 21 years ago and...YES!!!...I'm an awesome planner, like that. 3 more kids later, not so much. This house was supposed to be our starter home. What?!? Okay, fine. I guess it's safe to say that we're just really sloooooooooooow starters...ahem...aaaaaanyway, a modest 3 bedroom home would fit us perfectly. 3 more kids later, not so much. Now that the kids are mostly grown and 2 are very nearly out of the house, there's really no reason for us to upgrade to a larger home. See how that ALL worked out?!? Besides, our 3 girls have grown used to sharing a...
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